Project update 1 of 1
Circa Campaign Supporters,
As you may already know, our crowdfunding campaign was unable to achieve our goals (and you will not be charged for your pledge). I wanted to take this moment to thank you for your support, provide a quick overview of how we’ll be moving forward, and encourage you to keep in touch as we pursue other paths towards bringing Circa to market.
About 2 weeks into the crowdfunding campaign, I realized that it wasn’t going to plan, and that I had to get our bikes in front of real people who can see them, touch them, ask questions, and get inspired by our vision. Around that time, I received an invitation from the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association to participate in their annual show here in Portland. After 30 intense days of preparation, I spent this past weekend presenting Circa at the show and the response from the public was fantastic and incredibly encouraging. On the first day, I spoke non-stop to folks for about 7 hours. This was followed by a second (very hoarse) day, of more non-stop, awesome conversations. Several people even told me they came to the show specifically to see Circa, and they “loved” what we were doing. I like that word.
We’ve known all along that we needed to have multiple irons in the fire to build a business, and crowdfunding was a relatively low-cost avenue to raising capital for us. Other pathways include private investments, traditional debt (loans) and our own direct pre-selling. At the Oregon Handbuilt Bike Show, we began testing direct pre-selling to people that we spoke with, and although I was told people seldom buy at these shows (they tend to go home and think about it), we had several people express the desire to buy a Circa bike ASAP.
Moving ahead, we will focus on directly managing pre-sales, with the goal of collecting deposits on 25 bikes / frames. These customer commitments will also make it easier for us to attract investors and persuade loan officers. Since we currently do not have a public showroom, we’ll also be looking for opportunities and events where we can meet with potential customers and let them experience Circa’s bikes. If you’d be interested in participating in our pre-sale program, please visit our site (http://www.ridecirca.com) or email me directly at rich@ridecirca.com. Once we hit our volume objectives, our goal is to deliver bikes by April 1, well-before the rains stop in the spring.
I’d be happy to answer any questions or respond to your comments via email at: rich@ridecirca.com.
If you’d like to stay connected with Circa, I encourage you to sign up for our mailing list here: http://www.ridecirca.com/contact/
You can also connect with us through our social channels:
It’s not the end of the road. Just time for a different path.
Thanks for all your support.
Rich Fox
Founder
Circa Cycles